GreeceGolden Visa.
EU residency for your whole family through a Greek property or investment, with no minimum time spent in the country.
Minimum property investment outside the high-demand zones
Minimum time you must spend in Greece
Permit validity, renewable while you hold the investment
To citizenship, but only if you actually live there
The programme in eight lines.
Figures last reviewed October 2026. Programme rules change; we confirm the current position before you commit.
- Minimum investment
- €400,000 (€800,000 in high-demand zones)
- What you get
- Residence permit
- Permit validity
- 5 years, renewable
- Time in Greece
- None required
- Processing time
- About 6–9 months
- Family included
- Spouse, children and parents
- Citizenship
- 7 years, living there
- Capital returned
- On resale, not guaranteed
Greece asks for no time in the country and renews every five years. What it no longer offers is a cheap entry, and from mid-2027 possibly a cheap purchase.
EU residency, with the keys in your drawer.
The Greek Golden Visa gives you and your family a five-year residence permit in return for a qualifying investment, most often a single property. Unlike most residence permits, it does not require you to live in Greece. The only visit required is for biometrics.
For most Indian families it is an option held in reserve: a European base, Schengen travel, and a foothold for children’s education.
- Live, work and study in Greece
- Travel across the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180
- Spouse, dependent children and parents on one investment
- Renewable every five years while you keep the investment
Choose your zone, then your route.
One qualifying investment covers the whole family. For property, where you buy sets the price.
Property outside the high-demand zones
One residential property anywhere in Greece that is not in a high-demand zone.
- A single property of at least 120 m², not several smaller ones combined
- The mainland outside Attica and Thessaloniki
- Islands with 3,100 residents or fewer
- Long-term lettings only, never Airbnb-style
Property in high-demand zones
Attica (Athens), Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with more than 3,100 residents. Same 120 m² rule.
Conversion or restoration
Converting a commercial building to residential use, or restoring a listed building. Anywhere in Greece.
Investment fund
Units in a fund investing in Greek equities or bonds. No property to own or manage.
Greek start-up
A start-up registered with Elevate Greece. You may hold up to 33%, and it must create two jobs and keep them for five years.
From investment to passport.
The residence permit is quick and undemanding. The passport is a different programme altogether.
Invest and apply
Complete the purchase or investment, then file the application. One visit to Greece for biometrics.
Permit issued
Residence cards for you and each family member. Official targets are shorter; plan on the longer figure.
Renew
No minimum stay. The permit renews as long as you still hold the investment.
Citizenship, if you live there
Ordinary naturalisation: 183 days a year in Greece for seven years, Greek tax residency, and a B1-level language test.
Citizenship is not part of the Golden Visa. It follows Greece’s ordinary naturalisation law, which requires real residence, so for a family that does not plan to move, the permit is the whole programme.
Requirements, and the Indian side of it.
The Greek requirements are simple. Most of the planning for an Indian family sits on the Indian side: remitting the money correctly and documenting where it came from.
- Non-EU nationals, 18 or over, with a clean criminal record from India and any country of residence.
- A lawful, documented source of funds. Every rupee has to be traceable to income, a sale or an inheritance.
- A Greek tax number (AFM) and bank account, which can be opened through a representative.
- Family on the same application: spouse, dependent children, and the parents of you or your spouse. Unmarried partners are not included.
- Remittance under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Even €400,000 is above one person’s annual limit of US$250,000, so families usually spread it across family members or two financial years.
- Tax collected at source on the remittance. It is adjustable against your income tax, but it ties up cash until you file.
From first call to residence card.
Zone and route
Decide the zone and the route, then due diligence on the property or fund.
Tax number and bank
Greek tax number and bank account, opened remotely through a representative.
Remit and complete
Funds sent under LRS with full source-of-funds documentation, then the notarial purchase or subscription.
Apply and biometrics
Application filed, then one biometrics appointment in Greece for each family member.
Card and renewals
Residence cards issued. Renew every five years while the investment is held.
What nobody selling this will tell you.
Every programme has drawbacks. These are Greece’s.
The cheap entry point is gone
Until 2024 any property from €250,000 qualified. Today the same programme costs €800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands, and €400,000 elsewhere.
A much bigger transfer tax is proposed
Greece’s government has announced a rise in the property transfer tax for non-EU buyers from 3% to 15%, from 1 July 2027. It is not yet law, and it is unclear how it would treat Golden Visa buyers. On €800,000 the difference is about €96,000.
You cannot let it on Airbnb
Golden Visa properties may only be let on long-term leases. Short-term letting breaches the rules and puts the permit at risk, which rules out the yield many brochures quietly assume.
The passport means living there
Citizenship needs seven years of residence with at least 183 days a year in Greece, plus a Greek language test. For a family keeping its life in India, the passport is not realistically on offer.
For an Indian, a passport means giving one up
India does not allow dual citizenship. Most Indian families are better served by renewing the permit and treating it as a standing option.
Time there changes your tax
Holding the permit does not make you a Greek tax resident, but spending 183 days or more a year in Greece does. Plan that against your Indian residential status before you move.
- Population
- 10.4 million
- Capital
- Athens
- Language
- Greek
- Currency
- Euro
- Time zone
- UTC+2
Is Greece right for your family?
Thirty minutes, no cost, no obligation. You will get an honest view either way.